Eleazer Oswald

Eleazer Oswald (baptized bp 2 February 1750/51 – 30 September 1795) was born at Falmouth, Cornwall, in England, but moved to British America as a young man. He became apprenticed to a printer, John Holt of Williamsburg, Virginia, and married the man's daughter, Elizabeth Holt. In the American Revolutionary War he immediately threw in his lot with the American colonists. He participated in Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec in 1775 and was captured. After a prisoner exchange, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of artillery in January 1777. He performed notable service during the Danbury Raid in Connecticut during April 1777. At the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778 he distinguished himself while playing a major role in the engagement. After resigning from the army in a dispute over seniority, Oswald returned to a career in publishing and journalism. Over the next decade he published newspapers in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. In 1792 he went to France where he joined the French Revolution and assumed command of an artillery unit as colonel. After fighting at Jemappes he went on a secret mission to Ireland. He returned to New York in 1795 and died in an outbreak of Yellow Fever. Apprentice and soldier Born at Falmouth, Cornwall, in England, in 1755, Oswald was the son of a ship captain Eleazer Oswald and his wife Rebekah Thomas. His father disappeared at sea when he was in his early teens. He was related to merchant Richard Oswald who later became the British commissioner for the Peace of Paris in 1783. Oswald traveled to America around 1770 and became involved in the patriot cause. He eventually settled in Connecticut. He became apprenticed to New York printer John Holt. Oswald married Holt's daughter Elizabeth (d. 1797) and their oldest son John Holt Oswald was born around 1777. Oswald married Elizabeth in New York City on 2 January 1772. Immediately after the Battles of Lexington and Concord Oswald joined the American army. With Benedict Arnold he participated in the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga on 10 May 1775. Oswald went with Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec in 1775 as one of five unattached volunteers. The other four were Aaron Burr, Matthias Ogden, Charles Porterfield, and John McGuire. On the night of 31 December 1775, Oswald took part in the Battle of Quebec. Benedict Arnold and Oswald accompanied the 25-man vanguard of Arnold's 600-strong column. He was wounded and captured in the battle.